Presented in two volumes, The Ashgate Research Companion to The Sidneys, 1500-1700 assesses the current state of scholarship on members of the Sidney family and their impact, as historical and/or literary figures, in the period 1500-1700. Volume 2: Literature, begins with an exploration of the Sidneys' books and manuscripts and how they circulated, followed by an overview of the contributions of family members -Sir Philip Sidney; Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke; Lady Mary Wroth; Robert Sidney, Earl of Leicester; and William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke - in the genres of prose romance, drama, poetry, psalms and prose. These essays outline major controversies and areas for further research, as well as conducting literary analysis.

This collection recovers the continuities between three forms of romance that have often been separated from one another in critical discourse: early modern prose fiction, the dramatic romances staged in England during the 1570s and 1580s, and Shakespeare's late plays. Although Pericles, Cymbeline, Winter's Tale, and The Tempest have long been characterized as "romances," their connections with the popular prose romances of their day and the dramatic romances that preceded them have frequently been overlooked. Constructed to explore those connections, this volume includes original essays that relate at least one prose or dramatic romance to an English play written from 1570 to 1630. The introduction explores the use of the term "dramatic romance" over several centuries and the commercial association between print culture, gender, and drama. Eight essays discuss Shakespeare's plays; three more examine plays by Beaumont, Fletcher, and Massinger. Other authors treated at some length include Boccaccio, Christine de Pizan, Chaucer, Sidney, Greene, Lodge, and Wroth. Barbara Mowat's afterword considers Shakespeare's use of Greek romance. Written by foremost scholars of Shakespeare and early modern prose fiction, this book explores the vital cross-currents that occurred between narrative and dramatic forms of Greek, medieval, and early modern romance.

Breaking new ground by considering productions of popular culture from above, rather than from below, this book draws on theorists of cultural studies, such as Pierre Bourdieu, Roger Chartier and John Fiske to synthesize work from disparate fields and present new readings of well-known literary works.

Using the literature of Shakespeare, Spenser and Jonson, Mary Ellen Lamb investigates the social narratives of several social groups an urban, middling group; an elite at the court of James; and an aristocratic faction from the countryside. She states that under the pressure of increasing economic stratification, these social fractions created cultural identities to distinguish themselves from each other particularly from lower status groups. Focusing on Shakespeare s A Midsummer Night's Dream and Merry Wives of Windsor, Spenser's Faerie Queene, and Jonson's Masque of Oberon, she explores the ways in which early modern literature formed a particularly productive site of contest for deep social changes, and how these changes in turn, played a large role in shaping some of the most well-known works of the period."

The works by the four protestant women authors collected in this volume participate in the ars moriandi (art of dying) tradition which became increasingly powerful over the 16th and 17th centuries. The moment of death was thought to reveal the 'true' state of the individual's soul. This volume provides four varying forms of heroic subjectivity offered by middle class and aristocratic women by the act of dying well. In all four cases their heroic deaths also proclaimed and thus helped to define specifically Protestant doctrines. When so few women's words appeared in print, this ideological function probably represented a primary reason for the recording and publishing of these works.

The opportunities offered by the explosion of knowledge about early modern women writers in the past two decades also pose a sometimes formidable challenge. For some sixteenth- and seventeenth-century English women writers-Mary Sidney, Mary Wroth, Aemilia Lanyer, Margaret Cavendish, Anne Clifford, and Elizabeth Cary-the critical literature has already become voluminous. For others, such as Anne Lock and Lucy Hutchinson, recent editions of exceptional work provide good reason to foreground them as likely figures soon to assume prominence in the field. Drawing together essays and articles from a disparate group of scholarly journals and collective volumes, some now difficult to obtain, this series of seven volumes offers a selection from the best work in this field. Presented in a compact, easy-to-access format, this series is especially useful for scholars new to the area as well as for experienced scholars who may have overlooked an important essay published in a journal with limited circulation. Each of the seven volumes listed below has been edited by a recognized authority in the area. Volume editors provide a substantial introduction surveying the current state of the field; a brief biographical account of the life of each writer covered in the volume; and a select bibliography for additional reading. In order to provide the most coverage without losing depth, some volumes cover multiple early modern authors. Every volume is published in hardcover and printed on acid-free paper suitable for library collections.

A collection of poems by a pivotal figure in the literary culture of Stuart England. William Herbert, Third Earl of Pembroke, was a pivotal figure in the literary and political cultures of Stuart England. He wrote poetry primarily for social occasions: A debate with a friend, seductions or apologies to beloveds, or support for a deceased political ally. This volume collects his work along with an introduction, detailed notes, and other apparatus that explore the networks in which the poems circulated, the interpretive contexts suggested in miscellanies, and alternative readings revealed through scribal variants. The book also features five contemporary musical settings.  

This collection recovers the continuities between three forms of romance that have often been separated from one another in critical discourse: early modern prose fiction, the dramatic romances staged in England during the 1570s and 1580s, and Shakespeare's late plays. Although Pericles, Cymbeline, Winter's Tale, and The Tempest have long been characterized as "romances," their connections with the popular prose romances of their day and the dramatic romances that preceded them have frequently been overlooked. Constructed to explore those connections, this volume includes original essays that relate at least one prose or dramatic romance to an English play written from 1570 to 1630. The introduction explores the use of the term "dramatic romance" over several centuries and the commercial association between print culture, gender, and drama. Eight essays discuss Shakespeare's plays; three more examine plays by Beaumont, Fletcher, and Massinger. Other authors treated at some length include Boccaccio, Christine de Pizan, Chaucer, Sidney, Greene, Lodge, and Wroth. Barbara Mowat's afterword considers Shakespeare's use of Greek romance. Written by foremost scholars of Shakespeare and early modern prose fiction, this book explores the vital cross-currents that occurred between narrative and dramatic forms of Greek, medieval, and early modern romance.